Dragee sorting apparatus

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for sorting dragees according to diameter and thickness of the dragees, which apparatus comprises, in combination, (a) plate-type sorting means comprising a perforated surface adjustable in tilt and oscillatable and disposed to receive the dragees to be sorted and, disposed therebelow, (b) roller-type sorting means comprising a plurality of substantially parallel rollers wherein adjacent rollers rotate in opposite directions and wherein the spacing between said rollers is steplessly adjustable.

United States Patent 1191 Braun Jan. 8, 1974 [54] DRAGEE SORTING APPARATUS 2,710,712 6/1955 Friedman 209/85 UX 2,615,567 10/1952 Campbell... 209/85 X [75] Inventor- Hans Bra, nveshelm Germany 2,422,036 6/1947 Oakley 209/107 x 73 Assigneez Boehringer Mannheim, GmbH, 2,962,565 11/1960 Schlicksupp ZOO/61.21

Postfach. Germany FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [22] Filed: June 28, 1972 392,295 5 1933 Great Britain 209/85 [21] Appl' 266959 Primary Examiner-Allen N. Knowles Attorney Ralph D. Dinklage et al. [30] Foreign Application Priority Data July 8, 1971 Germany P 21 33 968.4 [57] ABSTRACT Apparatus for sorting dragees according to diameter [52] US. Cl 209/73, 209/75, 209/85, and thickness of the dragees, which apparatus com- 209/ 107 prises, in combination, (a) plate-type sorting means [51] Int. Cl B07c comprising a perforated surface adjustable in tilt and [5 8] Field of Search 209/85, 107, 75, oscillatable and disposed to receive the dragees to be 209/73; 221/10; 222/193; 302/34; 200/6121, sorted and, disposed therebelow, (b) roller-type sort- 61.2 ing means comprising a plurality of substantially parallel rollers wherein adjacent rollers rotate in opposite [56] References Cited directions and wherein the spacing between said rol- UNITED STATES PATENTS lers is steplessly adjustable.

2,343,042 2/1944 Barry 209/107 8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures DRAGEE SORTING APPARATUS The instant invention relates to apparatus for sorting dragees, tablets, capsules and the like according to diameter and thickness.

In recent years there has been a growing trend towards the use of high-output package fillings machines for the packaging of dragees, capsules and tablets containing pharmaceuticals (hereinafter collectively referred to as dragees). To assure trouble-free operation of these machines the dimensions of the dragees must be as uniform as possible. In the production of dragees, however, it is inevitable that some of them will be off-size, and consequently the dragees have to be sorted according to diameter and thickness before they are packed. Also, fragments of dragees, and doubles (two tablets stuck together in the sugarcoating process), also have to be sorted out. The removal of defective dragees must be effected not only to prevent trouble in the packaging machines but also to forestall consumer complaints.

Although dragee sorting machines are commercially available, they have to be operated largely by hand or they are only semi-automatic in operation.

The subject of the present invention is a fully automatic, technically simple dragee sorting machine of high output, which requires relatively little place, and satisfies all precision and reliability requirements. It is suited' not only for the sorting of dragees, but also of dragee cores and tablets according to diameter and thickness.

The apparatus of the invention consists basically of a combination of two parts into one compact unit, namely a plate sorter and a roller-type sorter, and is conveniently explained with reference to an illustrative device shown in the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of the entire apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic representation of the eccentric drive.

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of the rollers in the roller sorter.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of the manner in which the dragees are guided in the roller sorter.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the arrangement of the major items of the apparatus.

With reference to FIG. 1, perforated plate sorter-4 with adjustable tilt and actuated by two eccentrically mounted shafts is disposed above and in operative engagement with a roller-type sorter 13 with steplessly variable roller spacing.

The perforated plate sorter is provided with a feed hopper 3 which contains a resilient deflector or a helical plastic housing 5 and a pneumatic conveyor tube 1 coming from a container 2 holding a supply of the material being processed. The level of material in the feed hopper 3 is controlled by a level detecting switch 6 through a magnetic valve 7 in the compressed air line running to the pneumatic conveyor tube 1. The one eccentric of the perforated plate sorter is mounted on the shaft of the driving motor, while the second eccentric is driven through a chain transmission at the same speed, the eccentric connecting rods 8 being carried in pivotally mounted ball sleeves and provided with threaded ends wwhereby the tilt of the perforated plate is controlled. Both the roller sorter and the perforated plate sorter are provided with discharge funnels and guides which are equipped with shutters 28. The apparatus furthermore contains openings in the machine frame and rails equipped with rollers for palletized transport containers. The roller sorter contains riders l8 and channel-shaped guides 20, which consist preferably of Plexiglas and which are adjustable according to the size and weight of the dragees being sorted.

With more specific reference to the dragee sorting machine represented in the drawings which is a preferred embodiment of the inventive apparatus, FIG. 1 shows the pneumatic conveyor tube 1 by which the dragees are delivered from the supply container 2 to the feed hopper 3 of the perforated plate sorter 4. To protect the dragees against chipping and fracturing, a resilient deflector or a helical plastic housing 5 is located in the feed hopper. The level control switch 6 is connected to a solenoid valve 7. The perforated plate sorter 4 is driven through the two eccentric connecting rods 8; cf. FIG. 2.'ln the upper half of the perforated plate, where the holes are somewhat smaller than in the lower half, the dragees of excessively small diameter drop through the funnel 9 into the reject container 10. Dragees with the accepted diameter tolerance drop through the lower half of the perforated plate and pass through the chute 11 into the feed hopper 12 of the roller sorter 13. Dragees whose diameter is too large pass over the entire perforated plate and are guided by chute 14 into the reject container 15. The dragees are carried from feeder hopper 12 over a vibrating chute 16 and through Plexiglas tubes 17 to the sorting channels of the roller sorter 13. The sorting channels consist each of two rotating rollers (FIG. 3). The riders 18 with the adjustable loading weights 19 and the channelshaped guides 20 keep the dragees in line (FIG. 4). FIG. 1 also shows the funnel 21 through which the toothin dragees drop into the reject container 22. Dragees with the correct thickness are delivered by the chute 23 into container 24, and the too-thick dragees are delivered through funnel 25 into the reject container 26. All containers run on rails 27. The funnels and chutes have shutters 28. The roller sorter is fastened to the frame of the perforated plate sorter only by the two bolts 29.

The manner of operation of the apparatus of the invention shall now be described with reference to the drawings.

In the pneumatic conveyor tube the compressed air (3 to 5 atmoshperes gauge grgssure) is carried in the outer jacket to the bottom end of the tube and there it is turned about by and fed into the inside tube. The suction developing in the inside tube carries the dragees through the inside tube into the feed hopper. The resilient deflector or a helical plastic housing 5 in the feed hopper prevents the pills from colliding at high velocity with the hopper wall upon emerging from the pneumatic conveyor tube and being shattered. The level control switch 6 opens a solenoid valve 7 in the compressed air feed line to the pneumatic conveyor tube whenever there are too few pills in the feed hopper, and closes the valve when a sufficient supply is present in the hopper. The pills slide from the feed hopper, whose lower orifice is a few millimeters above the perforated plate, across the perforated plate sorter 4. The perforated plate sorter is vibrated by means of the two eccentric connecting rods 8. One eccentric connecting rod is mounted on the motor shaft, and the second eccentric rod is mounted on a shaft which is driven by the motor through a chain drive. The eccentric connecting rods are carried in pivotally mounted ball sleeves and have threaded ends whereby the tilt of the perforated plate can be varied. Driving the perforated plate by two eccentrics allows the vibrations to be made stronger at the upper end of the perforated plate than at the lower end, or vice versa. In this manner the amount of time the material spends on the perforated plate may be adjusted as desired. Furthermore, the output of the perforated plate sorter can be adjusted by regulating the size of the gap between the feed hopper and the perforated plate and by regulating the angle of tilt of the perforated plate. The output of the roller sorter is determined by the tilt of the rollers. if the tilt is too great, the pills will spill over one another. The Plexiglas riders with the adjustable loading weights keep the pills from spilling over one another. By adjusting the loading weight, the pressure of the Plexiglas riders may be controlled in accordance with the'weight and the diameter of the pills. In this manner the sorting channels may be set steeper to achieve a greater output from the sorter. After passing the Plexiglas riders the pills are preventing from spilling over one another by the channel-shaped'guides. The spacing of the sorter rollers is adjusted such that the too-thin pills are sorted out in the upper area, the good ones in the middle area and the too-thick ones in the bottom area. Palletized aluminum containers may be used as the reject containers for transportation within the factory. No great amount-of effort is needed for the removal of the filled aluminum containers from the machine, since they ride on rails 27' which may also be provided with rollers.

One pillow block of each pair of sorting rollers is affixed with set screws to a round rod; the second pillow block of each pair is mounted on a spindle having a fine thread. When the threaded spindle is rotated by means of a knob the roller spacing in all of the sorting channels is simultaneously and uniformly adjusted.

The machine does not have to be shut down when the containers are changed, because during this period the pills are collected above the shutter in the funnel. Since 7 the roller sorter is fastened to the frame of the perforated plate sorter by means of only two bolts 29, the two sorters may be readily separated if desired by removing the bolts. The roller sorter and the perforated plate sorter are interlocked electrically, i.e., when the roller sorter is shut off the perforated plate sorter is simultaneously shut off. Each sorter may also be operated separately as desired.

With this machine, which is fully automatic in opera- .tion, a high output (approx. 100 kg of drageesper hour) can be achieved for a small floor space area (about 1.9 m Dragees, dragee cores or even tablets itative and that other embodiments within the spirit and scope of the invention will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

' What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for sorting dragees according to diameter and thickness to the dragees, which apparatus-comprises, in combination, (a) plate-type sorting means comprising a perforated surface adjustable in tilt and oscillatable and adapted to receive dragees and sort same into groups passing over and through said perforated surface and, disposed therebelow, (b) roller-type sorting means adapted to receive sorted dragees that pass through the perforations in said perforated surface for further sorting and comprising a plurality of substantially parallel rollers wherein adjacent rollers rotate in opposite directions and wherein the spacing between said rollers is steplessly adjustable.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 additionally comprising feed hopper means adapted to supply said platetype sorting means with dragees to be sorted, wherein said feed hopper means isprovided with resilient dragee deflector means.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 additionally comprising a dragee supply container and pneumatic con veyer tube means communicating therewith and leading to said feed hopper means wherein, disposed in said feed hopper means, there is provided a control switch capable of regulating'the amount of dragees fed into said hopper means, through solenoid valve means controlling the compressed air flow to said pneumatic conveyer tube.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said perforated surface of said plate-type sorting means is in two sections, an upper and a lower section, the upper section having perforations somewhat smaller then those of the lower section, the respective hole sizes being such that the smaller-than-tolerance dragees drop through said upper section into a reject container and the acceptable dragees pass principally through said lower section ontosaid roller-type sorting means.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said roller-type sorting means comprises (1) rider means between each set of counter-rotating rollers, which rider means adjustably depress the dragees into the groove between said rollers, and additionally, (2) channel guide means disposed between said rollers to properly align the dragees with respect to said roller means.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said perforated surface of plate means (a) is oscillated by means of two rods connected thereto and eccentrically attached to two rotating surfaces, respectively.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein one of said rotating surfaces is driven by the shaft of a motor and the other rotating surface is rotated at the-same speed by said motor through a chain drive.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein said eccentric rods extend through pivotally mounted ball rated plate. 

1. Apparatus for sorting dragees according to diameter and thickness fo the dragees, which apparatus comprises, in combination, (a) plate-type sorting means comprising a perforated surface adjustable in tilt and oscillatable and adapted to receive dragees and sort same into groups passing over and through said perforated surface and, disposed therebelow, (b) roller-type sorting means adapted to receive sorted dragees that pass through the perforations in said perforated surface for further sorting and comprisinG a plurality of substantially parallel rollers wherein adjacent rollers rotate in opposite directions and wherein the spacing between said rollers is steplessly adjustable.
 2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 additionally comprising feed hopper means adapted to supply said plate-type sorting means with dragees to be sorted, wherein said feed hopper means is provided with resilient dragee deflector means.
 3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 additionally comprising a dragee supply container and pneumatic conveyer tube means communicating therewith and leading to said feed hopper means wherein, disposed in said feed hopper means, there is provided a control switch capable of regulating the amount of dragees fed into said hopper means, through solenoid valve means controlling the compressed air flow to said pneumatic conveyer tube.
 4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said perforated surface of said plate-type sorting means is in two sections, an upper and a lower section, the upper section having perforations somewhat smaller then those of the lower section, the respective hole sizes being such that the smaller-than-tolerance dragees drop through said upper section into a reject container and the acceptable dragees pass principally through said lower section onto said roller-type sorting means.
 5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said roller-type sorting means comprises (1) rider means between each set of counter-rotating rollers, which rider means adjustably depress the dragees into the groove between said rollers, and additionally, (2) channel guide means disposed between said rollers to properly align the dragees with respect to said roller means.
 6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said perforated surface of plate means (a) is oscillated by means of two rods connected thereto and eccentrically attached to two rotating surfaces, respectively.
 7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein one of said rotating surfaces is driven by the shaft of a motor and the other rotating surface is rotated at the same speed by said motor through a chain drive.
 8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7 wherein said eccentric rods extend through pivotally mounted ball sleeves and are provided with threaded ends whereby the degree of threading determines the tilt of the perforated plate. 